publications. i am a speaker. i enjoy my life. i get to get paid to do it i love, which is pretty exciting. host: you brought up affirmative action. as far as talking about issues that are important, especially among what is most important when it comes to issues? guest: johnson economic security. -- jobs and economic security. jobs solelyk about in terms of black folks. part of the problem of getting policies that will make a difference for african-americans like a higher minimum wage is that we have a very divided politics. when you lead with the racial disparities and say lack people have twice the unemployment that white people, what happens with that kind of focus is that non-

black shutdown. in a hair in accusation when you talk about disparities -- they hear an accusation when you talk about disparities. i am arguing for a discourse where we look at how all people are affected by this economy. i think the number one issue for most black people is economic security, fairness, incarceration is a huge issue -- it is the case, including for a person like myself who comes from a well educated family, there are only two degrees of separation. they know of a relative caught up in this system. the war on drugs has ravaged black communities and harmed taxpayers. those are the top issues. also, education -- the ability to have access to a high- quality, free education with excellent teachers and school books.

those issues hit home. host: the latest numbers show among african-americans the in employment rate is almost 12%. guest: higher than that if you put those numbers into some context. i agree. two issues strike me as huge going forward for black communities. one is the wealth gap. there have been conversations about that. it is wanting to have economic challenges, everybody does, but that disparity in terms of wealth accumulation -- even hispanics have surpassed african-americans in that area, which is interesting because they have not been in the economy as long. that is an issue of concern. there is the issue of the innovation and tech gap. you have to be highly educated, highly skilled -- those jobs and opportunities are not coming

into the interest -- inner cities. they are leaving. since it is black history month, i am not afraid to say there are a lot of issues black folks have to deal with. there is the issue of poverty. maria shriver's report was out, and she focused on women, but that will disproportionately impact black women and women of color. i do not think we are having some of the conversations we need to have. we talked around it because we do not want to offend. we want to be pc. i think we need to talk about some stuff. host: when the government brings up income inequality -- is it a federal issue, state issue, personal issue? guest: we all have responsibility. the government service a role,

but not the only role. the public-sector serves a role. the people need to start working on behalf of the people. guest: i agree with that. i do not deny that there are disparities. what i am saying and what i say in this book is it is clear that sophia and i are committed to the same things -- we want to see gaps of inequality closed. we want to see if there are nation, one where a person who works hard and can put their nose to the grindstone can get ahead regardless of what their race is. social science research suggests that if you lead with disparities, begin the conversation same black people have twice the unemployment, triple the poverty -- that is not a good entry point if your goal is to build a multi-racial

coalition then can coalesce around policies like raising the minimum wage. my point is that i think we need to -- in order to get success in politics, in congress, we need to have a conversation that talks about, and harms. you know, there is a lot of commonality between the daily lives of struggling white folks and struggling people of color, and unfortunately we have divisive politics where politicians play on and spark racial resentment, and if you look at the numbers, whites lean republican, black and latino's you get a gridlock politics that makes it difficult to pursue the common good. guest: i agree. as someone who does corporate training leadership, we were talking about this.

she is right. bold models of diversity ago, your20 years company is racist. let the money in it, but i do not want to be engaged. you cannot go in and say you are racist. you have to bring people to the table under what unites them so sees that youn are a human being. deals.re likely to cut i agree that you cannot cut out with a bat and talk about everything that is that you batot come out with a -- a

talk about everything that is wrong. host: let's it to some calls. pamela. illinois. go ahead. caller: i want to bring up the point that it is less likely that we use the past apology that was left from slavery. in "12 years a slave" we see how the classes continue to have that overwhelming not dealing with disparities from racism. if we could get that address, we would not have it so much in our politics. pedro, i am so glad to be armed with these ladies because they are my heroes. guest: thank you. host: change the pathologies, change the politics. guest: you cannot talk about changing negative disparities as are dealing with the context

from which you come. she is right. we have not had that conversation. i do not know if we are going to have that conversation. eric holder said we are a nation of cowards when it comes to race. people said it was strong. i agree with him. i'm not sure were going to have this conversation, but they are right, remember katrina. that was the most vivid example of the legacy of slavery. atlanta, we saw major issues with snow. the poor areas were left out. we still see remnants of this thing that we do not deal with. guest: let me take a little bit of a different perspective to the caller. if you look in any neighborhood in america that has high concentrations of poverty, and i do not care whether it is in

appellation, or in the inner- city ghetto, you find behaviors you use the word "apologies." -- "pathologies." you find behaviors that are not considered middle-class, mainstream, high levels of dysfunction, drug use, a lot of decline in marriage, or no marriage -- things like this. it is a poverty thing. it is a concentrated poverty thing. it is not just a legacy of slavery. and, i have to say, concentrated poverty results from intentional government policies, choices about -- well, i do not want to take up too much time, but urban renewal, concentrating all housing project in one place, discriminations in terms of residential markets. my first book talks about this. the urban ghetto is a government-created institution and i would blame that for the

so-called pathologies even more than slavery. host: steve is up. virginia. republican line. are you there? caller: yes. i would just like to make a comment and put a spin on the black history. i love history. i have had the opportunity to be able to work on an old home that was told by slaves -- built by slaves, and me, myself, being a carpenter, i have been overwhelmed with the type of work that those people did back then. we hear a lot about slaves in the field and how they were mistreated, but i have been able to see some of this work and i am proud of the work those people did in those days.

it is just overwhelming to see. i do not know how they were able to make some of the things they did. even with modern equipment that we have nowadays, they turned out and produce work. i wanted to share this with the other people. i am proud of what those people did back in those days, and everyone else should be proud of the product they produced also. host: ms. cashin, is there a

takeaway? guest: thank you for the call. there is a church in savannah, georgia, or you can go and see the -- where you can go and see the pews with the insignia from the tribe. if you look at the history, many of the ivy league universities in this country were built by slaves. the white house, built by slaves. it is interesting history. i thank you for honoring that legacy and i also want to add going forward african-americans continue to make wonderful contributions, not just in carpentry, but other ways. thank you for that call. guest: i appreciate the sentiment. i have been to the church in savannah. it is very moving. host: south carolina. john. democrats line. caller: good morning, ladies. it is amazing. i sit here and listen to you talk about, you know, the subject -- first of all, i consider myself an american because i know nothing about africa.

as far as color of the skin goes they do not consider themselves african-american or black pair to take the president. they say he is black, but his mother is white. sheryll cashin, it if they chase your history, nine times out of 10, your grandfather was a black man -- a white woman. you are shaking your head, and i like that. i do not consider myself african-american or whatever but i consider myself an american because i was born here. i know nothing about africa. let's get off of that. thank you. guest: the reason i shake my

head is that i have researched the history and i do descend from a white slave owner, and i wrote a book "the educator's daughter -- agitator's daughter." it was complicated. his melodicner sent children north and even the classical education. children north and gave them a classical education. careful what you wish for, anyone that looks back in the history. guest: no comment. host: scott. sierra vista, arizona. independent line. caller: good morning, everyone. good morning, america. i am so happy that we have the ability to allow everyone to have a voice. i am an avid reader and analyst, and a couple of points of interest that i would like to share -- one of them is i think in america we have a false bill of sale and a false bill of hope.

the emancipation proclamation said you are free, so a certain segment of society says you cannot be sold again. that was great. then there was a false bill of hope for those that could not be sold again that they hoped this was the time of the new beginning, but history has been recorded. not only has the transition to how i view my life that is opportunities might have passed me by, but i have never passed opportunity. the significance of that is another step. we talk about education. it is the education in you, not the number of degrees. host: thank you. sophia nelson? guest: i am not sure there was a question.

i think he was just making a statement about how he views things. i appreciate the comment. host: the false sense of hope -- guest: i am mulling that over in my mind. i think hope comes from within your soul. i think our people have shown from slavery forward, as you mentioned, the contributions we have made have been enormous despite unbelievable harms and obstacles. it comes from you and i think our people have shown that. guest: that is true, but i do think it is fair to say there are a lot of people in american

society today without hope of all colors. they are in a hopeless situation. they might be long-term unemployed. they may be homeless. i do think it is important -- what you say is right. i am a huge believer and i talk about it in the book, of reenergizing the tradition of african-american striving. or ever your situation is, there is something you, individually, working with your god and your

spirit can do to make it better. i also do believe that better government policies can bring all people along and give them hope and a chance to uplift themselves. host: as far as government policies, one of the things that came up this week was the idea of a minimum wage. do you tackle this from your perspective? guest: i think reasonable people can disagree about this. i think a living wage is something that is important. i think it is the collaboration from states and businesses that need to sit down and figure out you do not want a federal mandate and say i cannot meet this, but you want to raise the wage, so it is a tricky conversation. guest: well, there is no question that wages have stagnated for average people, and average wages, median wages are less than they were when you account for inflation 30 years ago, meanwhile ceo-to-worker pay has increased 1000%.

something is out of whack in terms of the allocation of profits from employers to workers, and we have had a decline in the labor movement. i do think we need to put more pressure on employers. henry ford intentionally aid his workers a very good wage because he wanted them to be able to afford to buy the products he was selling. i am not an economist, so i do not want to speak passed my expertise, but i do think without a strong, multiracial coalition that puts pressure on congress and puts pressure on employers, we will continue to get growing inequality. host: both of you mentioned congress. the topic that started late last year was that of unemployment insurance, still not resolved. what are your takes on a topic and what congress should do about it? guest: whether or not they should extend it? host: yes. guest: that is a tough issue. you have people that have been long-term unemployed, two years

or maybe more, and they have stopped looking. there has to be a social safety net. i agree with that. on the other hand, you get the balk from industry, where does it stop? it is a tough conversation to have. guest: i do not profess to know what all of the policies -- right policies are. i do know that if progressives or conservatives who care about the decline of opportunity for average people in this country do not start to build a more cohesive politics were people of color are coalescing and coming to gather for sanity and common sense, it is not going to get better. host: peter. germantown, tennessee, republican line. caller: thank you so much. i believe ms. cashin is touching on what i was going to get to. the problem with these disparities and inequalities, they have root causes in a pathologic lifestyle, wherein the black community you have a 70% illegitimate birthrate that

has developed in the last 50 years because of the rise of the welfare state. if you have higher and higher loss of family structure like this, you get two things -- instability and chaos. that has been spreading through the community, and gives rise, ultimately, to these inequalities and disparities. you cannot fix any of that -- those problems -- with the government policies unless you fix the high illegitimate birthrate. you need to have family structure. you need parents and family. that is the foundation of a society, and that is the root

cause, and that is what the focus needs to be on. if you rely on policies, minimum wage, or changing schools, it will not fix it. no government policy to fix this problem. it has to come from the individual within. guest: i agree with everything he said except for pathological lifestyle. i do not think i would use "pathological." you and i could run off numbers and drive everybody crazy. the reality is, he is right. we have a problem in the disintegration of the black family. it goes back to daniel patrick moynihan's report in the 1960's. we are living it out. the irony of an african-american president, a first lady, very successful, and we have elements of real success in the black community, the way you look at the real black community, it is in distress. i agree. but you cannot pro-government out. -- throw government out. it does have a role.

a cannot be the only solution. cannot be the only solution. host: how much of a role? guest: i think it has contributed. the welfare state -- if that is a term you want to use, you can trace the numbers. when my parents got married in 1966, something like 80% of black people were married. that number has dropped to something like 37%. that is almost 50 years. something is wrong. guest: let me say this to the caller. i am perfectly willing to -- and i write very frankly and all of my books about you being responsible for your personal behavior. i am married. i waited until i got married to have kids. i am raising my kids. the tv is off. i have my foot in there, but they are learning spanish and

mandarin. i am a third generation valedictorian. you are going to be a valedictorian, or i am going to die trying. that is my household, and those are my values. some of those values have been lost. where i disagree with you, caller, is to suggest it is all about personal behavior. there is a relationship to policy. beyond the welfare state, we started a war on drugs that overly incarcerated people -- black people do not use drugs at a higher rate than white people, and, in fact, i think whites use drugs a little bit more, but black people are much more likely to get thrown in jail. possession of marijuana -- you

can have your life ruined. a lot of black men, who might have been, if not incarcerated, not prosecuted, been able to go to school, finish school, get a degree and mary somebody, they are behind bars. that is one example. another example of what has happened and that is very different in the last three decades -- economic segregation has taken off in this country. only 42% of all americans of all colors today live in a middle- class neighborhood. that is down from 65% in the 1970's. by the way, marriage rates and out of wedlock birth -- marriage rates are declining with whites and out of wedlock births are rising with white folks. my point about the neighborhoods, what is happening in american society -- if you are affluent enough to be able to buy your way into a high-

quality neighborhood with low poverty and excellent schools, the system works for you very well. you are set up very nicely -- you have selected k-12 education that sets you up to going to college and do well, and everybody outside of that my -- outside of that gets a different deal. if you go into some of the schools in these high poverty neighborhoods -- you can find rats, no textbooks. so, you could be the most motivated kid in the world, but surrounded by dysfunction. it takes enormous fortitude to overcome that by yourself. at minimum, government has costs an obligation -- every state constitution in america says the

state has the obligation to provide an adequate education, and at minimum, government should be doing that. we should be putting excellent teachers in high-poverty neighborhoods, so that the people who are taking responsibility for themselves have a fair shot. guest: i want to speak to her point. i live in loudoun county, virginia, the wealthiest county in the country. i stopped and said we are rich out here. i looked at with the kids had -- every advantage, kids rooms, play rooms, state-of-the-art everything, from interactive to macs, and you could just see the wealth of where we live and the children being impacted in positive ways versus where if you just go up to d.c. 30 miles up the road in some areas it is a different ballgame. guest: it is not just lack people -- black people. there are more increases in poverty in the next -- last

decade in suburbs. you can find a lot of struggling, poor, formally middle-class white people in suburbs where poverty is increasing rapidly. there is a lot of commonality of experience. host: our guest, by the way, are sheryll cashin, the author of "place not race -- a new vision for opportunity," and sophia nelson, author of "black woman redefined." judy. indianapolis, indiana. democrats line. caller: hello. i want to know what the ladies think about -- i think the country -- people are going crazy over ideology and greed. it is all about money.

i think this country was set up, and people were put in slavery because they wanted free labor. free labor is what built this country. i think the ideology of a big business and companies now is to continue to have cheap labor. cheap labor is driving everything, i think. it is causing companies to be more concerned about their shareholders, and about their own personal wealth. and, to keep their personal wealth, they have to hire people at low wages. they are not really concerned. i think the people in american know-how to solve this. these problems are not difficult to solve because we have done them in the past, and they need to be brought forward. host: caller, thank you. guest: she makes a powerful point.

outsourcing is a real issue. good jobs leaving and going overseas because of lower wages, less regulation, etc.. it is a serious situation. she made me think of wall street, greed is good. we are very disconnected. this stuff does not connect us. i think what she is saying is true that there is a decline in wages and the standard of living because we are focused on shareholder profits and corporate well and we have forgotten about america and workers and people. host: it goes to the immigration debate going on in congress as well. guest: sure. guest: yeah. host: chris. independent line. caller: how're you doing, sir, and how are you doing, lovely ladies.

this is an intense conversation. -- interesting converation. you have me bubbled up here. [laughter] guest: hopefully in a good way. caller: i am a college graduate and i ran my own two businesses. the topic is about racial relations, and it should be about capital and labor. if you listen, you are talking about emigration, and going back to race and color, but if you really listen to what you are talking about, you are talking about the relationship between capital and labor. from eric williams about capitalism and slavery, you are talking about white supremacist constructs that are serious all over the world. when you really get down to it, we are trying to make a more perfect union in the united states, and the people is what i love.

if you look at what just happened with the president -- we had our union, and everybody stood up for the great soldier. we have some great people in this country, who would die for this country, for the ideals of this country, but if you look at our leaders, they are nothing. they are a piece of crap because they have sold us out, they have sold our labor out. guest: let me say this. as a former lobbyist in a fairly big law firm in the city, one of the reasons i stopped by the same law and became so disengaged -- stopped practicing law and became so disengaged is i saw what he is talking about. it is not that you give up. you make it a decision to remove yourself from the process he is talking about. our leaders -- republicans and democrats are the same, america.

you might not know it, but they are. they might appear to be ideologically different, but they are the same in the sense of what is the next office -- what is the campaign -- they have to raise millions of dollars to run for office. i have always believed we need public funds for elections. the system is broken because of money. it makes leaders less engaged with us and less engaged with what they need to do to keep what they have. he is right. guest: you had that from me. i did not know you are a republican. [laughter] [indiscernible] host: angst giving must be fun.

thanksgiving must be fun. guest: it is interesting. the caller said a couple of things. i think america, pre-civil rights, and organizing rentable was white supremacy. thank god we had a civil rights movement. i do not think capitalism is built on white supremacy, not anymore. but i do think corporate, economic elites, they have captured this town, you know, and there is a history in this country of using race to divide people.

we talk about corporate and labor. there is a division there. there is currently an unequal allocation of profits that come from corporations. you know, how we get back to -- it was great to be middle-class from post-world war ii to about the mid-1970's. i was a great time to be middle- class. each decade, wages rose because corporations shared more. frederick douglas, a good old republican -- [laughter] my great-grandfather was a radical republican. guest: of course she was, come on now. guest: is not for a person with power and influence to decide voluntarily to act -- allocate more power -- you do not have pressure points to pay people more. guest: look at south africa. i have a bracelet on that one of my sorority sisters gave me, it was when he -- winnie mandela's bracelet.

in south africa, they will not give anything up without a revolution and without having to be made to right the situation. to your point, caller, it is time for america to rise up. i am not saying over to the government or anything like that, but americans are disengaged. we are selfish. if my suv, my driveway is good, my family is good, we are ok. that used to be the mentality, where we looked out for the lady down the street, make sure everybody was ok, you had black lawyers, engineers, sanitation workers living in the same neighborhood. we do not have that anymore. there is a disconnect. guest: what also is missing is for organizations or political

parties, or, you know, politicians to consciously develop a discourse that is designed to bring people together as opposed to a discourse that is designed to pull people apart. host: i want to take a call, but you said earlier eric holder said we are still cowards about race. we have an african-american president. what has he added to the contributions? guest: i think president obama backed off. when he waded into that water as a black man, and i do not think he was thinking about it consciously. i think he was trying to have a discussion. they took him to town onto that one. i have not seen him weighed into any race discussion since his speech before became president and this cap gave -- skip gate.

guest: i do not think it is the president's job to have conversations about race. not to say there is not an appropriate time. whatever he does, it just seems to rile people up. what he said about trayvon martin was a modest statement, but some people really jumped on him. it is his job to try to bring people together and lead. i do think other organizations, and perhaps this is not the work of political parties, but whether -- other organizations and what i write about in my book, "place not race, out in may -- [laughter] guest: it's all good, girl.

guest: i write about examples from so-called red states where coalitions that have included latinos, republicans, blacks and whites, came together to coalesce around a public policy that made things better for average people. host: john. florence, wisconsin. good morning. caller: good morning. it will be interesting to see what kind of heat sophia will take for coming out of the closet here and being a republican. [laughter] guest: everybody knows that, come on. caller: i am kind of serious because every conservative that has stepped off of the plantation has been vilified, and it is a shame because if you have a way to view that disagrees with democrats talking points, you are thrown under the bus, and if you really want to

change things and get off of the plantation -- i am a poor white man. my parents, great-grandparents, never owned slaves. we have black entertainers, football players, basketball players, millionaires, billionaires, a president, it's still we want to get dragged into this conversation that the war on drugs is unfair against black people. how about the war on poverty. host: ok. guest: wow. everybody in washington knows i have been republican for a long time. jack kemp was my mentor. i am in the moderate wing that really does not exist anymore. i am not worried about that. one of the reasons i do not take slack in my community for being a black republican is because i

am in my community, i am invested. i am engaged. nobody questions my blackness. ifblack card is "sound," you will. this country is a democratic republic. this country needs a good democrats and good republicans, and they need to work together. anybody that can step up and do that, whether they be blacks, whites, hispanics, etc., should do that. i gave up the thought of running for office. i could change my mind later. frank wolf, who is my congressman is retiring in my district. if this was a couple of years later, i would do it, but i cannot do it now. i get your point, but i do not think you should use words like "plantation." they are inflammatory and ridiculous. we need to figure out ways to be more monolithic -- less monolithic and more diverse in our politics and have leaders

that are different, who are republicans, that speak to the interests of the community. i think it is damaging to the black community to be wedded to one political party because no other racial group in america, none, does that, but us, and it makes us foolish. guest: let me say to the caller and to sophia, first of all, i know quite a few black republicans. like i said, i married into a family with quite a few of them. there are actually more out there than you might realize. in my situation, i do not see black republicans vilified. the word "plantation" it is a divisive word. i think all of us, individually, have to work at creating a

discourse that is civil and tries to bring people together. i do not know if you came in late, but from the top of the hour, the first thing i said was i do not think it is healthy to leave with -- lead with racial disparity, but anybody who honestly looks at the so-called criminal justice system and system of mass incarceration, to suggest that that system is racially fair is just not true. it is not a racially fair system. guest: i agree. guest: i do not invoke race or use the word racism lightly, but it is not racially fair, and also, it is not fiscally sound. it does not make a lot of sense for taxpayers. guest: absolutely. guest: if reducing the use of drugs is why -- what you want to do, it is cheaper to have drug prevention programs.

guest: i cannot wait to read her book. guest: i want to have a discourse when we get to public policy that is good for everyone of all colors and good for the common good. the last point that i want to make is i dissent from a radical from -- from afrom radical republican. the republican party has a gorgeous tradition. it was founded on anti-slavery pledge. it was a party that represented freedom and force this country in reconstruction to do something different. that is a proud legacy, right? if i were a republican, and i am not, i would tell that legacy, but i have to tell you, the republican party is not competing -- guest: absolutely. guest: competing for black and brown votes, and i am not sure they want them.

black people are actually conservative people in a lot of their values and those votes are there. guest: google me and "the washington post" -- i have in writing this for a number of decades. i had many talks about this. about theing republican party has to take a long hard look. two turns later, they still have not figured it out they cannot have a majority party without having brown and black people in it. they will have to deal with this issue and 2016 will be interesting to see who the candidate is because i think chris christie is damaged. host: the number one way to make that outreach? guest: have people like me -- you cannot just have people that

are black. herman cain, with all due respect, there is not a connection to the black community. somebody like you, if you are running, your credibility, your history -- the same with me, a black person who happens to be a republican, i will do well with black voters. there are very few republicans that can say that. guest: what i want for this country is we are a party system, and it does not have to be a two-party system, but where all political parties compete for the votes of all people. that would be a better america. host: teresa. illinois. independent line. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say that me, myself, i do not party identify, republican or democrat because i know they both work for corporate america, and if you look at what corporate america is doing to the world, that says it for itself. back to the topic, i think it is important for black people to

understand history. that is part of our problem. we do not read. we have to understand european history and ancient african and egyptian history. it is important. the civil rights movement -- the only thing the civil rights movement did was give by people the opportunity to go to the courts and fight racism. it did nothing to address the mental enslavement that was taught throughout the existence of black people in this country, and there was a caller before that said there -- he is an american and does not know anything about africa. well, black people's history did not start in america. it started on the continent of africa for 80% of us. also, what marcus garvey said was forget about racism -- we need to teach your kids math, science, how to build things. we forgot about all that stuff.

host: caller, thank you. guest: that was loaded. guest: caller, you said so much. the point that i agree with you on -- well, i disagree with you. the civil rights movement was a proud, wonderful movement that did miraculous things for this country. it took us in one generation from a country where a majority of people believed in racial hierarchy and the inferiority of one group, to where a majority of people did not. it also did open up jobs and schools and the black poverty rate was 72% in 1950. it came down dramatically. i disagree with what you say about the civil rights movement. i do agree, though, that in black homes it is very important for black folks to be instilling in children the proud history that we come from, you know? we are not just former slaves.

we are people who, you know, have accomplished a lot. we come from -- you are right -- ancient africa. there are civilizations there, writing there. all of that should be shared. >> -- guest: my niece had to do a report. she is biracial. her mother's family is from nathaniel hawthorne, and all of that is laid out, and when she was asking about our family, there was a spider. -- sputter. we know are great, great, great grandmother ran off and married a slave owner's son. but then a kind of stalls. we could not spit that history out the way her mother's side of the family could, which was challenging. we are well-educated, but we are

a first-generation family in law school. we have to emphasize to our children that there is another side to you and it does start in africa. host: we have been joined by two guests. sophia nelson, author of "black woman redefined," currently working on a new book, and sheryll cashin, the author of "place not race." guest: thank you for having us. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> on the next "washington journal" simon lazarus and roger pilon on executive powers. it will talk about how president obama and past presidents have used that power. after that, a look at what young voters thought about president obama's recent state of the union address. time willgal of our

join us. we will take your calls and comments beginning live at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. this week, house republicans to our in a retreat in cambridge, maryland. for more on the retreat and a better understanding of what is ahead, we spoke with a reporter who covers capitol hill. adriel bettelheim is a senior roll call.q there are two key issues that seem to have come out -- and dealing with the debt limit and immigration. first on the debt limit. how do they plan to adjust that next week? >> i think they are trying to

lse on whether they would allow a clean debt limit extension or whenever they choose whether they will attach some preconditions and revived the expansion if they go the latter route. indications are there is at least some sentiment to tying an increase in the debt ceiling to repealing part of that health care law that deals with payments to health -- help insurers mitigate -- mitigate that risk of a technical thing. it has because the gop next big target in obamacare. make this decide to linkage is still to be decided. that is strong sentiment at least in the republican caucus -- >> you tweeted -- caucus -- this. tweeted

is it a serious proposal? >> the sense that there could be -- for subsidies for begin sure as companies, health plans have to sell policies to everyone now under the law. it could wind up with an actuary unhealthy crew of customers and this is claims than -- a way for the government to temporarily have their back and cover half or more of the excess cost. whether that is being prudent after retooling the entire health system by whether it is a giveaway ends on the political framing, of course. onto the immigration issue, speaker been issued some key parts of polls on immigration. what are we hearing about this? >> this is big. this is the first that the house majority whip.in in addressing the issue. he sort of downplayed these

principles as just talking points. there was some resemblance in some areas to the deal that was struck in the senate by that gang of 8. the house has rejected a bill that the senate did last year. you want to do a more decent bill approach. they want to address employment verification and the legal status of people when they are brought into that country, the so-called dreamers. the important thing is that they would give some legal status short of citizenship to approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country. the legislation is at least weeks, if not a couple of months off, correct? politicalre calculations and survivor ships, a lot of members are very uncomfortable to vote. they are afraid. how do you accommodate those concerns? you cannot keep delaying the

vote am putting it off until every primary is done. in the primaries do not happen all at once. navy we see something on border security. leading agriculture workers go back and forth. something that everyone can sort of agree upon. i do not know it will go as far as dealing with the legal status of undocumented people this year. >> the house did pass a "farmville". what does it look like -- the house did pass a farm bill. what does it look like? >> that would set up a vote to clear the five-year package. a huge piece of legislation. could be the last big bipartisan legislative deal this year unless something unexpected happens. i think it deals with so many different both visions --

provisions. we have something that generally people arereed upon, going to likely not kick up a big fuss. they cannot amendment because it is a conference agreement. >> one cichlids, what is in store? -- once it clears, what is in store? of got thesort speaker's schedules. one of the things they are doing in the short run is a couple of public lands and hunting and fishing bills. i do not know that counts as major. they would expand access to land management and plans for hunting and recreation fishing and shooting. it has got some interesting language.

they will meet in house rules on monday to decide how they are going to debate this and whether they would allow amendments. from that, we will see if it will be a huge fight. >> you can follow adriel .ettelheim thank you for the preview of next week. >> glad to be with you. >> a closer look now at the house and senate gaveling back in on monday. the house reconvenes at noon for general speeches with legislative business at 2 p.m. a couple of those will be considered, including giving veterans in state intuition -- in state tuition regardless of where they live. gavels in at 2

p.m. on monday. the senators will consider the farm bill. vote meets the 60 requirement, go on final passage could occur on tuesday. as always, you can watch the house live on c-span and the senate live on c-span 2. wreck but he car wrote about extensively in my book. the whole time i was in the hospital -- i had a cut and a broken ankle and praying that the other person in the car would be ok. the other person in the car was one of my best friends. i do not know. i think because i prayed over , i thought, nobody

listened. by prayer went unanswered. i went to a longtime of not believing and not believing that prayers could be entered. it took me a long time and a lot of growing up to come back to faith. laura bush.y >> c-span. we bring you public affairs events directly from washington. putting you in the room at white house events and offering complete gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house. service --ivate public service of private industry. we are funded by your local

cable or satellite provider. follow us on twitter. confirmation hearings for state department nominees. he is nominated to be the foreign and service director general. nominated to be assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research. they appear before the senate foreign relations committee last week. the chair is bob menendez. this is one half hour. >> we will ask members of the audience who are leaving to be quite so we can begin the next panel.

we would ask you to summarize your statements. let's start. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i am honored to be here before you as president obama's nominee to be next general rector of the -- director at the department of state. i appreciate that confidence that secretary kerry and the president have given me. i am pleased to have the opportunity to advanced to policy. advancedvanced > -- diplomacy. improving the to civil service, the foreign service, and locally employed

staff. i would like to take a moment to introduce my wife, who is also a member of the foreign service. i am pleased that my daughter sarah, brother michael, and brother-in-law michael could be here as well. my wife and i have had the privilege of serving together with our three children throughout latin america and europe as well as a number of positions in new york and washington dc. promotingeply about u.s. interests abroad. globalry kerry said, leadership is a strategic leadership -- imperative, not a favor we do for other countries. it amplifies our boys and extends our reach. it is key to the fulcrum of our influence. it matters to the daily lives of americans. in that as we get it right for

america. it matters that we get it right for the world. diplomacy and development are more important for safeguarding prosperity and security. if we can solve and manage problems diplomatically, we save lives and money that would otherwise be spent dealing with conflict. i believe the men and women of the department of state are among the most talented, loyal, and hard-working people i have ever met. they deserve the best possible support. if confirmed, i will work to equip them with the training, tools, and support of policies they need to support -- fulfill our critical mission. i would like to add knowledge and express my gratitude for your support. minority support and retention. i pledge to work closely with you to achieve a more diverse workforce. i have seen that is our embassy

teams engage with foreign audiences, our support of the american values of social inclusion and freedom works better when we walk the talk by mploying a workforce that includes all cultures and races. the department of state is making inroads that will help us reach our diverse the goal. represent the u.s. around the world and embassies, consulates, and less traditional missions. the department remains focused on filling positions and priority staffing posts. well ensuring we adequately staff our other posts around the world and advance major initiatives such as food security, energy

and nonproliferation. i will work with other members of the department to make sure they have the support they need for these high stress assignments and to cope with the pressures the service places on them. the foreign service employees spend their careers overseas, while civil service employees provide institutional support in washington dc. they have a record of volunteering for service in iraq and afghanistan. the department of state has expanded its use of limited noncareer appointments to fill urgent needs. visas in china and brazil have been nominated, facilitating international towards him for 1.8 million brazilians who visited and

nearly 1.5 million chinese. this created approximately 50,000 new jobs in the u.s. staff locally employed represents the largest group of employees for the department of state. serve under dangerous and challenging circumstances with sometimes hyperinflated currencies. they advance our nation's goals. if confirmed, i will build on the concept of one team, one mission. i was proud to learn that the state department placed fourth among 19 large agencies in the 2013 thus places to work -- s bang places to work rankings. i am pleased to have the opportunity to address you and the members of the committee. i ask for your help

strengthening the security of america. theok forward to helping secretary to ensure that we are prepared to do just that. thank you and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, ambassador. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is a great honor to appear for you as the president's nominee. i am grateful to president obama and secretary of state kerry as well as to the director of national intelligence for support of my nomination. i want to thank my wife diane for joining me today and might a unique and valuable asset. the bureau has a long and celebrated history providing i'll assessand and that has helped guide our foreign policy.

the reputation derives from the expertise and skill of its personnel. the bureau has some of the greatest regional and subject matter expertise anywhere in the u.s. government. it is less well-known, but we play a critical role and function ensuring intelligence related law enforcement activities are consistent with and support our foreign policy in national security objectives. and national security objectives. i have worked closely with members of the intelligence committee. i have witnessed firsthand the role that intelligence and analysis can and should lay in the formulation of all see. like many -- policy. i have a strong academic background and appreciate the importance of drawing on the inights and expertise found our nation's outstanding

academic institutions. as a leader in the department, i have work to it enhance interagency cooperation and improve communication to an information sharing. --make sure we are making working together to enhance national security. i will work tirelessly to ensure analyticalts unique contribution and make sure that our intelligence activities support our four policy -- foreign policy. i think you for having me here today. -- thank you for having me here today. >> welcome to your families. service of those in the foreign service is a family commitment. --ppreciate their service they're willing this to share you with the country. we are very proud of your service to date.

i would expect the service you have had will be reflected in this new position. there are some, things i am concerned about with the state department. a concern that has lasted 21 years since i first came to congress and the house. transcended various administrations and doesn't seem to be improving. that is the nature of diversity in the foreign service. the president the state presence in the state department. one of the worst issue is the hispanic workforce at state. it would have to grow exponentially to fairly reflect the hispanic component of the u.s.

population. this is a goal that has proven elusive, even when the department had the resources to conduct large-scale hiring programs. the state department was one of only five federal agencies that saw a decline by a percentage in the number of hispanic employees. predecessor made a genuine effort to address this issue and work with my office and making minority communities aware of opportunities at state and in the foreign service. this is something that i raised with heather having the -- higginbotham and her role in management. state needs directed guidance from the top that this is a priority. if you don't establish from the

--, from the techie terry secretary to the undersecretary, to say part of how you will be evaluated is whether or not you are working to diversify within your field the workforce of the state department and the foreign service, then it won't be carried out. that as part know of their overall review this is an important equation, it will be maybe for another 20 years aspirational. this is in just about doing the right thing from ice perspective -- my perspective. this is about a powerful message across the world. in china, i was meeting with human rights activists and representruggling to

nascentn effort -- anscen effort to create change in china. the member of our team from our embassy who was leading this themt in terms of engaging -- many who did not come because they were threatened not to come by state security -- was an african-american. the powerful message that was being sent to these activists and dissidents as someone who expressed some of the history of the united states, the change for basic human right and dignity, now representing the u.s. in a country that was going

through similar challenges, cannot be measured. this is in just about doing the right thing. it is a powerful message. haveame message when you been able to represent our country in different parts of the world. ist i want to hear from you about makingto me this a priority as a director general. wo, what is the plan? somedo want to hear outlines of what you envision having to happen in order to change those dynamics. do you believe you have a commitment from the secretary to change this reality?

i have been doing this for 20 years, trying to change the course of events, and i really consider it one of those things i have not been very successful at. the difference is that 20 years ago, i was on the chairman -- not the chairman. by saying youn definitely have my commitment and that of the secretary. i met with the secretary yesterday. we talked about this. again,ed me to reiterate as he is told me personally, his commitment to diversity. that extensive the entire top staff. -- extends to the entire top staff. i want to say that as a member of the foreign member -- service, i have seen the culture change.

we can do a better job. i personally am not satisfied. but i am satisfied with the progress we have made. my team will work very hard on this. this is an imperative and priority. we are doing to novel things like a mobile app to be able able to communicate with underrepresented populations. my personal case is somewhat nomadic. i come from -- emblematic. from colorado, new mexico. i knew nothing about the foreign service. i happened to run into a recruiter on campus. i became engaged with talking to foreign service officers overseas. i became smitten with this. it helped me prepare better and pursue this career. is what i hope to do.

outside and go to areas where we have people that in genuinely interested public service and have major contributions to make. we hope to launch this spring. the foreign service online this online and guides them with areas where they can improve their score. we have diplomats and residents in over 16 universities. historiclude institutions that serve hispanics and african-americans. their mandate is to find these people. not just to do it by chance. it is an exciting career. we have people interested in second careers, accomplished people. -- bankers and

lawyers who want to start in public service. we want to be able to tell the story and bring in those talents. we have a lot of work to do. we are working as a team. the secretary has had some innovative programs in terms of outreach to veterans. i would like look into all the public-private partnerships. it is a process. --ting access to this >> i appreciate that answer. i would disagree with you on progress. progress is all relative. we haven't had the type of progress that i think is commiserate with the growth in this country of a critical part of the population. i look forward to having a more

in-depth opportunity to work with you. i will tell you for points at the carson shall. four points that i think are essential. it begins with the process under which those who are reviewed will have is one of the measurements what they have done to promote this anniversary. secondly, if we continue to conduct -- recruit in the traditional places, we will not getting diverse pool. -- get a diverse pool. i can bring you tonight -- new jersey and some schools that are diverse, but that recruiting does not take place. to the traditional places, we will get talented people but not the most diverse pool. we have to diversify where we send the recruiters.

, ifdly, we have to engage we want to make this happen, not only recruit those individuals but lead them in a process that prepares them for the written an exorbitant -- written and oral exam. lastly, i am continuously n oral exambout a that is very subjective. obviously, oral medication is important in this job. respect, i had those appear before the committee who evidently must have passed the door exam -- oral exam and others who were rejected were equally competent in their ability to express themselves orally. we need a less subjective and

more objective standard so we actually get what we want. i look forward to working with you on this. this is something that i am .ctually considering looking at something we have not done on this committee for some time. estate department authorization bill. -- a state department authorization bill. there are many important elements we have not laid out. i think it is time for the committee to do that. i think it is important. finally, i would hope that as we -- something i have taken to heart since i have become chairman, something that began , we the tragedy of benghazi

are looking at the staffing thessary and fulfilling human capital needs and language requirements and other article elements to make sure our embassies abroad which are in high threat-high risk positions have the staff necessary to meet those challenges. is that something you are committed to? >> i certainly am. we have taken those recommendations to heart and have created 115 new security positions. we have created language proficiency programs for security personnel, particularly in arabic. we are using all of our authorities to bring on personnel that are retired or --er expert that can become begin contributing.

what are my top rules as ensuring we have the staff positions.or the 720 iraq,positions include afghanistan, pakistan, and libya. you have my that it. -- commitment. we have done a long way but we can do a better job. >> mr. smith. let me ask you, can you describe how i in our participates in the formulation of threat assessment against u.s. posts by the bureau of diplomatic security? one of the things that came out was looking at threats in a different way than we had. it wasn't just a question of of immediate actionable intelligence, but environment

that could have created from which a threat could have arisen. can you give me a sense of how inr goes about that? and how you will look at that issue? >> inr works closely with our colleagues in the bureau of the nomadic security as well as in the regional euros and elsewhere to ensure they have access to the intelligence and information they need to make assessments about the security and safety of our personnel on the ground in a given position. do of the things i want to is working -- that they have access to all information they need. and also that inr is providing the broader assessment and analysis to put these things in a broader context. you are right that in many cases , we need to see the bigger picture sometimes and step back. inr's contribution can be

significant. -- if you are confirmed, would you become the secretary's chief intelligence rief? >er? b i will ensure he has access to the information he needs. also that they are focused on the priority of the state department. >> that doesn't mean you're necessarily the chief intelligence prefer. -- briefer. how does that play back to -- howretary in terms of do you interface with the secretary not regard? -- in that regard? tending thee at

senior staff meetings to provide information and take back information to the inr and intelligence community on the priorities and concerns of the secretary. inr asthe strengths of an institution is the proximity to the secretary of state and other policymakers and the -- in the state department. to provide feedback to the intelligence community about priorities and objectives. >> to what extent does inr engage in personnel rotations with other agencies of the intelligence committee and vice a versa? >> inr is a small organization. , 360ve about 200 analysts positions. within those constraints, we try our bets to ensure that our analysts and employees have opportunities, whether to

but also that they can take advantage of opportunities abroad. one of the things that enhances our value and the insights and experience of our analysts is to be able to sever broad. we look for assignments and other opportunities so they can spend time abroad. >> i recognize the size of it or to the challenge. what theuantify for me component is? 10%? five percent? two percent? related to other intelligences -- agencies? >> i don't know the exact statistics. i would say we have a substantial number of detail is .t -- detailees as many as five percent or 10% are from other organizations.

we try to make available our staff and allow them to do rotations within the intelligence community is much as possible. i don't know at any given time how much it is. last year, in terms of overseas assignments, we had seven who were out and able to go on tv wise. -- tdys. >> would you, for the record, give us an answer? it would beme valuable for all concerned by giving exposure to and experience in the responsibilities of the tradecraft and the organizational cultures of other agencies that would help your specific task within the department. if you could get us an answer, i would appreciate it. >> i would be delighted. i will give you my commitment that that would be one of my priorities if confirmed. >> thank you both for your

appearance. thisg no other members, record will remain open until noon tomorrow. if you have questions submitted to you for the record, i would urge you to respond quickly. with that, this hearing is adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] debbie stabenow is our guest. she talks about the farm bill. here is a preview.

not doing subsidies anymore. insurance, doing which we share the cost and. --in. disaster, or if there is a market or price loss -- zero help unless there is they have -- is a loss. >> there are target prices. >> core prices are high right now. if you don't have a weather disaster? you will get zero. farmers --lion our million our farmers -- millionare farmers. if you are a millionaire, you don't qualify.

you don't get any help unless there is a loss on the but the --ndment which i supported senator grassley's amendment -- put an overall cap on what you can receive under target prices. and loans. it was $125,000 total. underneath that, he cap each area separately. we kept the overall cap. for the first time ever we have capped loans. we left flexibility, so if you want a higher loan, you get lower payment limits. if you want higher payment limits, you get lower loans. i understand all the stuff is very complicated. it through the

old lens. what i'm saying is this is a new day. >> can watch more of that in her view with the senator tomorrow when newsmakers airs at 10:00 a.m. and 6 p.m. eastern. >> bringing attention to what women do or how women have contributed always returns to the question of the body. for one thing, many people object to bringing women's studies into a middle school or high school classroom. there is this assumption is only about sex, birth control, abortion. actually it is also about women in politics, in law. women working on farms. queens, prime ministers. my job is to break down the fear

many people have. women'ss on in a studies classroom? studies professor and author bonnie will take your questions. book tvs in-depth. weekly address, president obama outlined his plans to create jobs and boost economic growth. addressal -- republican identify four legislative priorities where they think bipartisanship can be achieved. -- hi,er but he everybody. this week i delivered the state of the union address.

after four years of economic growth, our unemployment is the lowest it has been in five years. with the economy speeding up, companies say they intend to hire more people this year. while those on the top are doing better than ever, average wages have barely budge. inequality has deepened. too many americans are working harder and harder just to get by. too many stopped working at all. we need to reverse those trends. it is time to restore opportunity for all people. the ideas do matter who you are, if you work, hard and live up to your responsibilities, you, you can make it if you try. the opportunity agenda has four parts. one is more new jobs. jobs and innovation and energy. in wisconsin, i talked about part two.

training more americans with the skills to fill those jobs. in tennessee, i talked about part three. guaranteeingg -- every child with a world-class education. four.tsburgh, i laid out making sure hard work pays off for men and women with wages you can live on, saving you can retire on, and health insurance that is there for you when you need it. these ideas will strengthen the middle class and help more people work there. some will require congress. wherever i can take steps to expand opportunity, i will. i will ask business leaders, education leaders, and philanthropic leaders to partner with us to advance these goals. every day, i will fight for these priorities. to keep america a place where

you can always make it. thanks. have a great weekend and enjoy the super bowl. you may not have been picking about it at the time, but on tuesday, when the president delivered the state of the union, we were fulfilling a tradition prescribed by our constitution. all branches of government gathering in the people's house. democracy at its finest. but these blessings come with responsibilities. the constitution requires the president and congress to heed the will of you, the people, to work together to carry out the business of the country. identified four areas of bipartisan common ground that the president talked about. these are all areas where the house is already acting. we can move the for -- the ball forward without delay. about president talked

supporting federally funded research to unleash great discoveries. we agree. must -- more speed and to prioritize the resources we have research we need. it would eliminate political funding for conventions and instead help with medical research. we can't fix all, but surely creating a lifetime of hope and opportunity for most mobile kids is more important than subsidizing weakland this weeklong political -- subsidizing weeklong political rallies. >> whether it is taking a child to the doctor or taking care of aging parents, many americans need more flexible in their jobs. the president said we need to

fix some of these rules. i'm glad he raise these issues. the workplace flex ability act allows workers their time to use over time toward paid time off or comp time if that is what they would rather have. government employees have this. why not give private sector workers the same choices? our bill would replace restrictions that have been in place since 1938, long before don draper. of course must -- more must be done for the millions of americans that are having trouble finding a job. the president wanted to make sure the workers can get the right skills for the right job. we agree this is critical. as someone who worked in a community college in training, i know our economy has changed. the way we train our workers has not. this would consolidate the job consolidating programs in the

onks and put the focus programs that work. all will strengthen the relationship between our community colleges and training programs. i believe this legislation would create an opportunity for every american to find a good paying job. >> we want americans working again. we talked about how national gas production is good for our command jobs. we couldn't agree more. in a cold winter, in my home state of michigan, demand for electricity is high, the time is right for action. our infrastructure has not kept pace. ant is why we must build architecture of abundance to create jobs today and keep energy affordable tomorrow. the natural gas permitting reform act cuts red tape to ensure pipelines can be built.

it connects supplies with new manufacturing plants. a allanother step towards of the above energy policy. these bills covering a lot of ground. they are all about making life work for more americans. they need only a vote in the senate. we have already passed them in the house. along, push things republican leaders have sent a letter to rep -- the president. to we are awaiting his reply. we believe this can be a year of bipartisan action, a moment when speeches give way to solutions. the american people never let us down. we cannot let them down. >> on the next washington journal, the power -- the debate over executive powers will be the topic. the guests will talk about how

president obama have used executive powers and how they factor into current debates. a look at what young voters thought about the state of the union address. and the issues they consider most important in 2014. matthew segal from our time will join us. --will take your calls by and, like twitter and facebook. >> here at bell purely are, from archaeological data, we were able to establish that samuel mckellan was deathly here. -- definitely here. gettysburg, he brought his army of virginia, came to orange county, and went into winter quarters here in orange county with montpelier been the

westernmost extent of that. , based on statistics from casualties, that five out insix casualties occurred camp from disease, poor nutrition. hree toamps with t inee fifty men living proximity. >> life-and-death that the confederate army 1864 winter quarters. american history tv on c-span three. grew ins someone who the office. he was badly burned by the bay of pigs experience. he listened to the experts.

the cia and joint chiefs of staff. he went to see de gaulle and friends. -- in france. degaulle said you should surround yourself with the smartest people. but at the end of the day, you have to make up your own mind. kennedy remembered what harry truman had said. the buck stops here. after that bay of pigs, he was determined to make up his own mind. herewith the experts said, way what they were telling him, but , he wasnd of the day the responsible party. you see that. that was abundantly clear when and read the transcripts of all those tapes during the cuban missile crisis.

.e was his own man he was making up his own mind. they went to bomb and invade. he did not want to do it. inside looke -- an at the kennedy in administration. hosted bybate stanford university on gun policy in the u.s.. the one-on-one debate is between john donohue, who spoke on the side of gun laws, and civil rights attorney who spoke on the rights of gun owners. this is about 1.5 hours.

>> it is my pleasure to moderate this program entitled guns in america. one year after sandy hook. it is a little more than a year lanza shoter adam his way into sandy hook elementary in connecticut. --killed 20 67-year-old kids killed 26 7- year-old kids. ago, there wass also an incident in roswell where a boy brought a shotgun to the school. both are recovering successfully. in the years and sandy hook,

over 1500 gun bills have been introduced into legislatures of nearly every state. the 1500, a little over 100 have actually been enacted according to the new york times. 70%hose hundred, nearly amplified gun rights. 39 actually increased gun control. the u.s. still has the highest number of guns per capita, oh 88 per hundred. a total of 270 million. 2013 so the previous numbers of gun deaths, around 30,000. here we are one year after sandy hook talking about -- positioning, lobbing, organizing

-- and trying as citizens to craft legislation and policy that will protect their safety and freedom. tonight we will pursue this conversation in a debate format. i will act as moderator. increasedn favor of gun safety and control is john donohue. speaking in favor of gun owners kilmer, anon attorney in private practice in san jose. here's how the evening will go. will have an opening presentation of about 10 minutes. john will go first. don will follow. these will be followed by six prepared questions, debated. the questions were selected from

those proposed by don and john. be given form and to respond and will alternate. respond.inutes to you all noticed in your programs, you have an index card. , if you areyou disposed, to write a question, pass it to the aisle. they will be picked up by our volunteer graduate students will circulate in the audience. here whoe brought up will -- and edited in real-time. we'll take a select number. we will finish by 9:00. hope you're all staying for each act of this presentation. before we begin, i would like to

recognize bronislaw. he is the energy behind tonight's program. without his energy and persistence, we would not be here. thank you. [applause] now, we will begin with john donohue and his opening presentation. >> thank you. it is a pleasure to be here. i'm glad i was the safety person and not the violence and death supporter. let me start off by saying, conservative republicans used to think there was no private right to guns. a solicitor general appointed by nixon. -- exceeds the limit of its --

it is time for the nra to stop trying to twist the second amendment and turn this empowerment for a militia to a bulletproof personal right for anyone to wield a weapon. --onservative judge wrote month, a columnist stated what must be a quote principle that reasonable regulations are essential for all constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms. this is an absolute essential truth. he was quickly fired for saying that. he despairs that the debate over a second -- even

amendment fundamentalist is now ostracized by the gun community. how did this happen? we are locked into a struggle with powerful forces who will do anything to destroy the second amendment. reflective ofy the nra position. limits ono room for these subjects. let's hear more from the former guns and ammo editor. he described the relationship between the magazine and gunmakers as follows. -- he hado make murder charges to this against him in arizona after two trials. said he was defending himself

when he fatally shot eight or nine-year-old neighbor during a drunken argument. high-quality body armor had rendered submachine guns in effect if -- ineffective. in 2012, he wrote that this weapon was designed for law enforcement and unavailable to civilians for good reason. he was pressured to step down. despite profuse apologies for making this horrible misstatement, has not written cents. -- since. enemy of the first

amendment's -- second second amendment would say that he believes in gun free schools? when they make that statement today, they are denounced as constitutional terrorists. we think it is reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks. is that from obama? advertisementa after the columbine massacre. today, they stand against universal background checks. the publicng that supported in overwhelming numbers after the newtown shooting. regrettably, we did not get that. it can't be that if you said what the nra said in 1999, you are a dean dress enemy of the

constitutional. but that is what we hear. the bad news is --, the social costs are high, but there are value themt highly. and when you start with 275 million guns, it is hard to, but controls that will work as if you are starting from scratch. even when it works, it is hard to get it and lamented. -- get it and lamented. mented.it imple they're not as bad as be tobacco companies, even though they mimic some of the tobacco company tactics. with guns for self protection will never cause harm or for that matter, have any benefit. most xml firings -- accidental

firings simply bounce off the walls. te legislator in kentucky accidentally fired her gun just before the state of the state address. thankfully, it didn't hit anybody. said, it happens. here are the numbers. we basically lose 851 people through firearm accidents. close to 20,002 suicide. close to 11,002 homicide. and about half a million gun crimes each year. -- in terms of the total number of deaths, if you aggregate them since 1965, about 650,000 were from

homicides and accidents, more than the foreign wars of the 20th century. not tobacco company debts, but high. do with the lack of information is always a problem. the nra has used its influence to try to suppress information collected by the centers for disease control. we don't know as much as we would like. the nra is constantly putting out inaccurate information. quotes clearly referred the assertion that the abundance -- when itthe u.s. comes to firearm homicide, it does not even make the top 25. some like they really help. but here are the facts.

and our levelser of him aside and violence. the u.s. guns and gun culture contribute to that. here is a civil regression line that shows as the country becomes richer, the tendency is for homicide rates to fall. the one country that stands high above the regression line as an outlier is the u.s. more than three times the rate of homicide as you would expect for a country of this wealth. our goal was to try to move it down. are we more likely to succeed if we act differently than all our competitors? and cut back on restrictions on guns and ratchet up the gun culture like the nra wants? our 2008 murder rate would be beyond what it was if we

hadn't tried to compensate for these enormously high violence levels by locking up billions of individuals. gap,n't control the entire but there is a problem and reasonable regulation can improve the situation. the claim is sometimes made that when states pass right to carry laws, crime goes down because criminals are deterred. no evidence for this. report found no support for this review. the best evidence cuts the other way. let me give you some quick numbers. passed, likews are the carry laws that allow citizens to carry concealed you can see that crime rises.

. does notthat the data support the general claims. here is a more sophisticated analysis that tries to control for other factors played a role. -- playing a role. across crime categories, you see that there is a very consistent pattern. the crime numbers are going up. the ones with the asterix represent statistically significant kris -- increases in crime. victimization survey has said that violent crime victims threatened or attacked defenders with a firearm 47,000 times per year. 0.8% of violent crime episodes. guns are used at times for self-defense, but it is true

that the overwhelming amount of time, people do not have an opportunity to use the gun, even if they lawfully possessed one. we know that to 30,000 times a year,- 232,000 times a guns are stolen. is used inime a gun self-defense, five times they move to a criminal, and. -- element. that is probably a bad trade-off.